Exempting the poor: the experience of Thailand

Fee exemption schemes are widely recommended but little analysed. This paper analyses the operation of the Free Medical Care Project in Thailand, which enables those classified as poor to receive free treatment at government facilities. The paper concentrates in particular on the size and geographical distribution of the group eligible for free care, and on the extent to which the geographical distribution of the budget matches the geographical distribution of the poor. By analysing published data available at national level, information is produced on numbers of people eligible for free care, on the numbers who receive free care, and on the geographical distribution of the free medical care budget. Comments are also made on how the project appears to be operating at health facility level. The paper goes on to consider whether the equity effects of the project could be improved by reorganizing the project, and what impact reorganization might have on the costs of the project.